


The Shadows that Haunt Us

by Walking_in_Wonderland



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of blood, Nightmares, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walking_in_Wonderland/pseuds/Walking_in_Wonderland
Summary: Even after months of living Auradon, Mal and Evie can't escape the nightmares of their past.





	1. Evie

Stars winked from the velvet purple sky outside Mal’s window, trying to lure her into their clutches of dreams and sleep. Yawning she rubbed her dry eyes and tried to blink the room back into focus. Her limbs were weak and heavy with the exhaustion of finals week. She sat hunched over a mound of books strewn across her desk and fought to keep her head up.

On the other side of the room Evie had long since given up the battle to stay awake. Her books were stacked in a neat pile on the corner of her desk and she lay fast asleep on her bed, her face relaxed and peaceful. Mal longed to join her in the blissful realm of dreams, but she knew she couldn’t go to sleep until she could at least vaguely explain Newton’s Laws. Words swam on the page before her as she tried over and over to make sense of her notes.

“No!”

Mal’s head snapped up as the echo of a scream rang in her ears. She’d fallen asleep. She rubbed at her bleary eyes, but stopped when she heard the sound of rustling blankets behind her.

“No. Please, please no.” The sound of Evie’s whimpers made her spin in her chair to find Evie no longer peacefully asleep, but tossing and turning in bed, dragging her nails across her face.

“No!” Evie screamed again and Mal jumped to her feet. She sprinted to Evie’s bedside and jumped up beside her to try to grab her hands before she could do any real damage to her face. Mal could already see shallow cuts on her temple from where Evie had dug her nails into her own skin.

“Evie! Evie, wake up!” she called out as she fought to keep Evie’s nails away from her face.

“Don’t touch me!” Evie cried out as she thrashed under Mal trying to break free.

“E! You’re dreaming. It’s just a dream. Wake up!” Mal tried again.

“I hate you!” Evie shouted. “I hate you!”

Evie managed to break one of her hands free and lashed out at Mal, grazing the side of her face with long, sharp nails. Mal felt the sting of Evie’s nails biting into her skin, but she ignored it as she lunged forward to grab Evie’s arm again. Her heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to pin the larger girl to the bed. Evie was strong even in her sleep, and the last few weeks had left Mal exhausted.

“It’s me. It’s Mal. Please wake up,” Mal pleaded as she felt the strength in her arms giving out.

When Evie’s eye snapped open, Mal’s body sagged with relief. They both froze and stared at each other, Evie’s wrists still gripped in Mal’s hands. Mal let go and Evie scrambled to push herself up into a sitting position.

“I’m sorry. It’s just - you were going to hurt yourself,” Mal mumbled and looked away.

Evie sat there staring around wildly, her chest heaving from her labored breathing. She looked back at Mal and her eyes widened in horror.

“M - “ she reached out and brushed her fingers over the gash she’d left across Mal’s jaw, but Mal caught her hand and laced her fingers through Evie’s.

“I’m fine,” she insisted as she turned back to look at Evie’s haggard face, glistening with sweat from her nightmare. “Are you okay?”

Evie gave an unsteady nod. “Yeah, of course. It was just a dream.”

“It looks like you’re going to be sporting the scars from that dream for a while,” Mal murmured as she reached out and dabbed the sleeve of her shirt over the scratches on Evie’s face where beads of blood had started to ooze out. Evie shuddered and Mal noticed she was shaking. Her eyes were far away staring off at something that wasn’t in their room.

“Hey,” Mal scooted closer and wrapped her arms around Evie, pulling her close, “Just breathe. Whatever it was, it can’t get you here.”

Evie leaned into Mal’s touch and closed her eyes. She twined her fingers with Mal’s and held on tight as though if she were to let go she might fall back into her nightmare.

“It was my mother.”

Mal held her tighter.

“I was standing in front of her magic mirror as her voice told me over and over that I was ugly and worthless until my skin started to bleed and peel away, then it was her face in the mirror instead of mine,” Evie’s voice started to shake and she buried her head in Mal’s shoulder. “It was awful.”

“It’s okay.” Mal murmured and stroke Evie’s hair. “You’re okay.”

Evie’s head shot back up and she looked at Mal with eyes full of fear. “I don’t want to become my mother. M, what if I end up just like her?”

“Don’t say that. You are nothing like your mother.”

Evie rested her head back on Mal’s shoulder, and Mal drew circles across the flushed skin of her arm.

“You’re afraid of it too.”

“I’m not-” Mal tried.

“We all are,” Evie interrupted. “Even if we don’t talk about it, we’re all scared of it. Me, you, Jay, Carlos: we’re terrified we’ll grow up to be just like them and get sent right back to The Isle.”

Unease made Mal’s stomach churn. She didn’t want to admit how much Evie’s words resonated in her mind. Ever since cotillion and her discovery that she could turn into a dragon just like her mother, Mal had been terrified of becoming her mother. Now that she was away from The Isle she wanted nothing more than to live a happy life void of the dark schemes, and evil plotting she’d grown accustomed to on The Isle. She didn’t want to be her mother.

“You should let me take care of those scratches so they don’t get infected.”

Evie nodded, but her eyes had that same glossy look to them that meant her mind was far away from their conversation.

After inspecting Evie’s wounds and deciding they weren’t bad enough to need bandages, Mal cleaned them, then she and Evie climbed back into bed, Mal’s homework entirely forgotten about. They curled together with Evie’s back pressed against Mal and Mal’s arms around Evie. Comforted by Mal’s presence, Evie’s breath quickly steadied and softened in sleep. Mal stayed awake listening to the steady sound of Evie’s breathing.

“You’re not your mother, E. You never could be,” she whispered into the silence as she pulled Evie even closer. “You are so much more.”

Evie’s fingers laced with Mal’s.

“Thank you, M.”


	2. Mal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal can't escape the memories of The Isle and what she faced there. The images will haunt her dreams for the rest of her days, but Evie refuses to let her go through it alone.

The halls were dark and deserted as Evie trudged back to her room after a long day of smiling and being amiable. Serious discussions had begun in regards to bringing more children over from The Isle. Ben had chosen her as the ambassador and spokesperson for the children. She would lead the project, but that meant persuading the stuffy councilmen and Ben’s advisors that the other kids were worth saving. She’d attended at least half dozen meetings that day on top of her classes trying to get everything organized for the next batch of kids to be brought over, and she was exhausted.

But it would be worth it, she reminded herself as she pushed open the door of her room and kicked off her heels. Her whole body sagged with a sigh of relief as her feet stretched and relaxed against the cool wood floor. She abandoned her bag beside the door with a promise to herself to move it in the morning and glanced around the room. The lights were off save for the small string of fairy lights above her bed. She turned to Mal’s bed only to find the covers twisted into a tangled mess, but there was no Mal to be found. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Mal? Are you here?” she asked as she squinted into the darkness. The room appeared to be empty. Standing very still she strained her ears for any noise that might signal someone else was in the room. She could feel panic churning in her stomach. There were very few things in the world that could tear Mal from her bed once she’d gotten into it, and none of them were good.

“Mal?” she called out again, softer and more hesitant this time.

Her ears caught the sound of a whimper to her left. She swung around, but saw nothing. Careful to be slow and silent, Evie crept toward where she heard the noise. When she rounded the side of her bed she felt a jolt of pain stab into her heart.

Mal.

Somehow she’d managed to wedge herself into the impossibly small space between Evie’s bed and dresser. She sat with her knees hugged against her chest, her knuckles white from how tightly she held them to herself. Her eyes were closed, and she chewed her lip the way she did when she was frightened.

Evie knelt down and reached a tentative hand toward Mal. Her fingers brushed Mal’s arm. “M?”

Mal flinched and Evie pulled away. Scooting further back Mal shook her head, another whimper leaking out of her. “No, please don’t.”

“It’s Evie. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“Go away or she’ll find me.”

The ache in Evie’s chest grew.

“Who will find you?”

“My mother,” Mal breathed as a shudder ran through her small body.

“Sweetie, she’s not here. She can’t get you here.”

Tears ran down Mal’s cheeks, and she continued to shake her head, biting her lip so hard Evie could see a drop of blood glint in the dim light. “You have to go. I don’t want her to hurt me again.”

“This is just a dream. Your mom isn’t here, M. Please come back to me,” Evie tried again. Gentle and slow she reached out and took one of Mal’s hands. Mal tried to fight her away, but Evie held on and reached for the other one.

“Come on, come out. You’re okay. You need to wake up.”

A strangled sob burst out of Mal. She tried to yank her hands away from Evie as she fought to stay curled up in the shadows, but she failed. Evie was bigger and stronger than her.

“No, no, no,” Mal protested as she tried to dig her heels into the floor. “I have to stay here. She’ll find me.”

As gently as she could, Evie pried Mal from her hiding spot until Mal sat cowering in the center of the floor, her head down and her hands still held tight in Evie’s. Sobs and hiccups spilled out of her as she continued to try to fight her way free. Her whole body shook, and she looked so small hunched in on herself in the darkness.

“It’s time to wake up now, M. Come on,” Evie urged as she rubbed calming circles into Mal’s hands. When Mal was like this, it didn’t do anyone any good to wake her up by force. Evie had gotten a black eye for doing that once. Mal had felt guilty about it for a week.

“I can’t. She’s coming. She’s almost here,” Mal sobbed out, her voice laced with terror and desperation. Her grip on Evie’s hands tightened until Evie’s fingers started to go numb. “Please, help me!”

“I’m trying!” Evie countered with the same desperation mimicked in her voice. Afraid of the terror on Mal’s face, Evie grabbed Mal by the shoulders and shook her.

“Come on, M. Please wake up,” she chanted over and over as Mal lurched back and forth like a rag doll, her sobs panicked and uneven.

“No!” Mal shrieked and her eyes snapped open. On instinct her hands clamped around Evie’s arms and her nails dug in until Evie could feel bruises forming.

“Mal, it’s me! It’s Evie, calm down.” She moved her hands to Mal’s face to hold her steady and force Mal to look into her eyes.

Silence. Then Mal gasped and her grip on Evie loosened.

“E?” she sobbed out and collapsed into Evie’s arms.

Evie couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her as she pulled Mal close. Sobs shook Mal’s body as she locked her arms around Evie’s waist and buried her head in Evie’s blue waves. Heart breaking all over again, Evie held her tight and rocked back and forth as she pressed soothing kisses into Mal’s hair.

“You’re okay. It’s okay,” she chanted, not sure if she was comforting herself or Mal.

Mal’s tears soaked through Evie’s shirt, but Evie never let go. She stroked Mal’s hair, drew calming patterns into her fevered skin, and whispered reassuring words until Mal’s sobs quieted and turned to hiccups.

“I’m so sorry, E,” she rasped out at last as she reached up to wipe at her tears.

“You do not need to apologize,” Evie replied with a ferocity that surprised both of them. She brushed back a strand of Mal’s hair, so she could look down into the troubled green eyes that were looking up at her now.

“I just-” Mal hesitated. “It was her.”

“I know. I know.” Evie stroked Mal’s cheek. “But she’s not here. She can’t get to you.”

“I was a kid again, and I’d done something to upset her. She was going to kill me - at least, that’s what I felt in the dream.”

Evie brushed a finger over a scar that cut across Mal’s lip, a gift from her mother when Mal was younger and she had dared to try to defy her mother. “You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Do you think the nightmares will ever stop?” Mal asked as she settled against Evie’s chest, her breathing evening out as she focused on the steady beat of Evie’s heart.

“No, I don’t think they will,” Evie breathed as flashes of her own nightmares assaulted her mind.

“No, I don’t think so either.”

“But I’ll always be here to chase away the ghosts and wipe away your tears when you’ve woken up.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to be alone,” Mal whispered as her eyes closed.

“Me too.” Evie pressed a kiss to Mal’s temple. “Me too.”

As they sat holding each other, Evie sent a silent prayer up to the heavens in thanks that she had the chance to save so many Isle children from the nightmares she and Mal faced. They deserved so much more. They deserved to be happy, and she would fight tooth and nail to give them that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter as promised! As always, thank you for reading, and follow me on tumblr if you want more like this. I'm getting close to 200 followers, so I'm hoping to do something fun when I hit that number: alifeoflesbionage

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this and that it tugged on your heart strings a little bit.
> 
> As always follow me for more wonderful gay content on tumblr: alifeoflesbionage
> 
> <3
> 
> P.S. I apologize that I am so very terrible at tags...


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